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There are several common measures for monitoring a childs growth.
These include head circumference, length or height, and body weight.
The most common indices to compare weight and stature measurements with
reference curves are length or stature-for-age, weight-for-age,
weight-for-length for children < 2 years of age, and BMI-for-age for
children 2 to 20 years of age.
Head circumference reflects brain size and is often used to screen for
potential developmental problems among infants at birth to 24 months old.
Children with a head circumference less than the 5th percentile or above
the 95th percentile have health or developmental risks that need further
medical assessment.
Infants and children whose length- or stature-for-age is less than the
5th percentile may be short because their parents are short or they may be
stunted because of long-term malnutrition, delayed maturation, chronic
illness, or genetic disorder.
Underweight defined as weight-for-length or BMI-for-age less than the
5th percentile may be indicative of recent malnutrition, dehydration, or a
genetic disorder.
The cutoff values of less than the 5th percentile and above the 95th
percentile are used to screen for potential health or nutrition problems
and identify children who may need further medical assessment.
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